Well, the trailer for the film delivered a bunch of heard-em-before oneliners and an iffy concept – an chameleon named Rango fools his way into becoming a town sheriff and then is faced with numerous comedic hardships upon realizing that being the sheriff actually comes with some dangerous work. But since Johnny Depp is voicing Rango, I naturally assumed that there must be some kind of off-kilter, whimsical factor to the movie as well. I mean, Johnny Depp! The man doesn’t just do normal animated movies like that!

How goofy!

And, long story short, he really doesn’t. Rango is basically a film about what I just briefly explained. Except that there is a handful of strangeness – a mystery afoot involving water, Rango’s silly and light headed qualities that remind one of Jack Sparrow’s own method of don’t act serious and don’t get taken seriously, then find yourself in trouble later on yeah sure but bust your way out of it in a cool manner, and well… some other strange things that you can see for yourself. The other characters as well as the villains and the fight scenes also deliver a taste of originality that proove to be funny and fairly exciting. Not to mention the over-arching mystery of the plot – that one got to me, and it delivers an environmental message in a pretty interesting way. Although those who don’t really know the background of what Rango is trying to tell audiences may not get the full impact of the message, as a Society and Environment major I appreciated what the filmmakers were trying to show young audiences. And it is certainly nothing for older audiences to scoff at either – I don’t want to preach here, so lets just say, water is important and SCARCE folks. Yes, in our real world too, not just the world of Rango.

Especially in a desert!

Now, if there are any problems with the film that I felt myself and gathered from friends who also saw the film, it is that as an animated movie – it is a bit difficult to concisely explain, but – I suppose there isn’t a lot of magic to it per say. Rango is actually a pretty factual film despite the whimsy of a lot of what happens and the characters, and there is no rosy and teary moment of revelation and comraderie or whatever as audiences might expect from watching pretty much the only reliable House-of-Good-Animated-Movies these days, Pixar. And there aren’t as many friendly laughs and oneliners for kids and feel goodness as a Dreamworks movie like Shrek or Kung Fu Panda. Rango doesn’t really do feelgood and has a more abstract comedic feel, but I did still appreciate it. Although its appeal seems to be somewhat hit or miss, I’d recommend giving Rango a try. I think the filmmakers did try to make a film that stands out a bit from the bumpercrop of other animated films out there, and they have succeeded. Now it’s up to audiences to accept the film or not.

Rio is an interesting case for me because I didn’t have a drive to see it, but I was greatly impressed by it overall. At first, it may seem like your typical family-oriented animation, but it can still be entertaining for other audiences as well. Even though the whole story is highly predictable, I would still give the film a passing grade (it is better than Hop and the later Shreks).

The voice actors match with their characters pretty well. I was highly surprised by Anne Hathaway’s performance of Jewel, the love interest in the story, due to her singing. It seems as though Hathaway is trying to get back into the spotlight, considering her big role as Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman movie is appearing soon. George Lopez is included obviously just because his voice matches with the atmosphere and location of the film. And Jesse Eisenberg brings his loser quality into his character as he always does.

They are both such geeks

During the first 15 mins, I thought Rio was going to follow a similar pattern as Rango – a pet animal getting separated from its owner and being forced to live in the wild. However, Rio has a much different style, considering it is rated only G. It is surprising how adequately entertaining a G movie can be. Of course, however, none of the characters die in the film, unlike Rango. I felt I was robbed the satisfaction of watching some antagonists be killed for their evil deeds.

Blu Hawk

I am not the only one who is giving Rio a good rating. Reviews everywhere are giving Rio at least a 7 out of 10. And Rio shows some results with making over 370 million worldwide with only a 90 million budget (and the DVD/Blu-ray hasn’t even come out yet). Even though Rio has some cliche jokes and camera angles, it is bright, colorful, and flashy, which allows it to take full advantage of being an animated feature. While the film may not satisfy most adult viewers with its perfect ending, no loose-ties epilogue, kids will definitely enjoy this one.